Remember This?

Several months ago the "Teddy Bear Picnic" swap came to a conclusion.  What a fun-packed swap that was.  My lovely swap partner, Raili, sent me some awesome stuff, including the yarn & notions for Finger Foods.

It took me a while to get everything done, but here it is!

I started with the pears, yellow first.  I love pears, so sweet and grainy.  X loves them too.  Knit with Cascade Fixation, the finger puppets have a little squish and spring to them.  I'd tell you the colorways, but they're all just numbers.  :)

I always think I knit the green pear next, but I actually knit the apple second.  I was surprised by the difference in size between the pear and apple.  Not a huge deal, I think it just ended up rounder than I expected.  It also took longer because -as mentioned- it's more round. :)  Go figure.

I had trouble stuffing the apple to my liking.  It always seemed too lumpy for an apple.  It could be the perfectionist in me that wanted a perfectly round apple.  Eventually I just had to let it go and be happy with how the apple turned out.  Overall, I think it looks great (and I love the brown for the "puppet" portion - it's like the core of an apple!).

Third to be completed was the green pear.  The second pearr was finished much quicker than the first - I already knew where the pattern was going and didn't have to refer back to the book quite so often.  I really love the green.  And if I were to do these toys again, I think I'd use a semi-solid to get a little variation in color.

The grapes came last - really.  If you've been reading the blog you know they were only recently given priority on my list of WIPs.  The knitting felt a little tedious at times.  You have to knit 10 large grapes, and then 6 small ones.  Not to mention the vine & stem.  And sewing them all together.  I'm not a fan of weaving in ends or sewing together pieces, but I stick through it because I know the finished result will be so worth it.

But this bunch of grapes is my favorite of the entire bunch.  All the fruits are lovely, but there's something about the details of this knit that speak to me.  Yes, I got tired of the grapes.  And yes, I'd make them again. :)

I must mention that I added an additional 2 large grapes and 4 small grapes to fill in the holes that were left after I had attached the required 16 grapes.  I wanted them to appear full & plump.  Overall, I had 22 grapes.

Now I just need a banana and an orange and I'd be happy!

So, thank you, Raili!  These little toys will see a lot of action.  Not only does X enjoy putting them on his fingers and running around, but so do Mommy & Daddy! :)  Isn't it funny how knit toys draw such a large audience?  I find that adults enjoy the toys just as much as the kids do!:)

And when the weather gets a little nicer (Spring is right around the corner, you know), I promise I'll take pictures of little Teddy having his picnic! :)